Jordanian Dental Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes in Regard to Child Physical Abuse

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate Jordanian dental students' educational experience, attitudes, and knowledge regarding child physical abuse. Data were collected from a self-administered questionnaire completed by 441 undergraduate and postgraduate dental students in both dental schools in Jordan. Descriptive statistics were used to report responses to each question. The chi-square test was used to analyze the relationship between students' responses and level of education; the difference was considered significant if the probability of the difference was less than 5 percent. Results indicated major lack of knowledge of social indicators, signs of physical abuse, and reporting procedure among all respondents with no significant difference between postgraduate and undergraduate students. Most students indicated that their dental school was the main source of information on this topic; however, more postgraduates reported benefit from extracurricular sources. We conclude that dental students in Jordan are not sufficiently prepared to undergo their role in protection of children from abuse. Dental curricula in both dental schools include information on the topic of child abuse; however, the content should be expanded to better prepare the students.